10 Questions with ... J.T. The Brick
|
TITLE: Host of "Fox GameTime React"
MARKET: Syndicated
BORN: North Massapequa, New York
RAISED: New York |
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
KMAX/Los Angeles, KFMB/San Diego,
SportsFan Radio Network, Fox Sports Radio
1. How did you go from being a caller (and Jim Rome Smack-Off champ)
to a host in your own right- how did you make that leap?
And how hard was it to leave your prior career as a stockbroker behind?
After retiring as a caller, I landed my first show on KMAX/Pasadena,
where I bought time from 7-10 pm on Sunday nights. I was a stock
broker at Merrill Lynch at the time and sold advertising time to
a brick company in LA along with a few other sponsors.
After a four month run, I was able to bring my show
to
KFMB in San Diego for a Sunday night show. After 10 weeks,
Sports Fan Radio Network in Las Vegas asked me to host weekend
shows and overnights. I did that for about two months before taking
over their overnight slot on Memorial Day, 1996,
and never looked back. It was tough to take a huge pay cut
and leave the investment industry, but I had a passion for sports talk
and couldn't let the opportunity pass me by.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
I'm passionate about my family, friends and sports.
Those aspects of my life keep me focused and happy.
3. You started as a caller and now take a huge number
of calls on your own show, so you're the expert for this one:
what makes a good sports show caller and a good on-air call?
A good caller needs to be prepared and entertaining.
Every time I called a sports talk show, I wanted to be the star
and get listeners talking. A good caller has to be informed
and opinionated. I respect callers because I used to be the
guy sitting on hold for an hour looking to get my opinion on the air.
My show will always be caller intensive because more callers
go to live sporting events than most of the hosts that they listen to.
Callers are P1 listeners who drive ratings and revenue to a station
and I consistently talk to more first-time callers than any sports
talk host in America. I also hang up on more of them too. It is a bigger
risk to take a call from a listener in another market than to
read off the computer or a script provided by a producer.
4. As a Knicks fan, do you see any light at the end of the tunnel
for the team in its current state (better than last year, but still
on the lower levels of mediocre)? And as a New Yorker now
based in L.A., is it hard to be surrounded by Laker fans and
Kobe love (at least Raider Nation still extends here)?
The Knicks have become a joke and it is sad to watch what the
Dolan family has done to that once proud franchise. I grew up
going to the Garden with my father and watched some pretty
bad teams, but this recent five-year debacle is the worst in
franchise history because of their high payroll and
expensive ticket prices. I will always remain a hard
core Knicks fan and hopefully they will wake up in the near future.
LA is all about the Lakers and USC football. This is the weakest
major sports town in America and everyone knows it. LA doesn't
want a professional football team because the fans would rather
watch two or three national games on television then sit in traffic on Sunday.
I have worked for the Oakland Raiders since 1998 and currently
host their TV show "The Raider Report," so I get to interact with
many Silver and Black fans in LA. They are the most loyal fans in
professional sports and have played a major role in my career.
5. Who's your favorite athlete of all time and why?
My favorite athlete of all time was
Thurman Munson. As the catcher
and captain of the Yankees, he personified what was right about
sports while I was growing up in New York. He played hard
and was a leader.
6. Who are your mentors, your inspirations, the people
you've learned the most from?
My father is my inspiration. He was my role model throughout my
life and plays a bigger role each day now that I'm married
and have two sons (5 & 3). He is a passionate sports fan and also
made sure that he coached every game that I played as a kid.
When I had to make the tough decision to leave the profession
of stock broker to become a sports talk host, he gave me the
confidence to make the move and mentally supported me
along the way.
7. Of what are you most proud?
I'm most proud of my wife and kids. My wife is my best friend
and the person who keeps me grounded. I'm proud of my boys
and the way they are growing up. I'm also proud that Fox
Sports Radio has helped me build the largest syndicated
sports talk show at night in America. We now host "Military Night"
each Thursday and talk to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nothing is better than putting a soldier on the air and letting
them talk about their favorite team for a few minutes as they
take a break from their real job.
8. What do you do for fun?
For fun, I go to sporting events with my friends. It is the biggest
perk in the business and it is fun to bring some of my best friends
with me when I go to the Daytona 500, Super Bowl or
prize fights in Vegas.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day
without _____________.
...the support of my family, and something fun to talk
about on the radio each night.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten?
The best: Treat your ability to make people laugh
as a ministry, not to be abused or wasted.
The best advice that I ever received was to work harder
than my peers or competitors. When I was a stock broker,
I wouldn't leave for the day until I made 300 cold calls.
Work ethic is the key to financial success.
